This is the second in the series of posts on things I think about when I think about the places I have been to and the places I wish to go.
In October 2012, when I boarded the train at small town called Ventimiglia on the border of Italy and France, I was looking forward to exploring the beautiful French Riviera, or Cote d'Azur as the French call it, alone. The train route from Ventimiglia to Nice, my destination, is definitely one of the most beautiful you can take, especially on a bright sunny day, as the entire stretch of it is along the French coast line.
When I arrived at Villa St Exupery, the place that would host me during my stay there, I ran into a fellow traveler from Brazil, Luis, who had similar itinerary planned as mine, and we decided to hit the road together.
Nice has one of the most fabulous beaches, which stretches a few kilometres, and is lined with cozy little restaurants (like the one behind me in the pic) every few hundred metres. While it is just splendid to order a coffee and croissant in one of these restaurants and settle down to read a good book soaking in the Sun and the sea breeze, it is equally good to walk the length of the beach.
It is one thing to recognise places you have been to in a movie or in a book, but it is a whole other thing to come across someone else feeling the exact same way about the places you have been to, especially after a good amount of time has passed since you went there yourself.
People collect experiences. They remember the good ones for a very long time. I'm looking forward to collecting more experiences this year.
One of the restaurants behind me
That's Luis with me
You can read the other posts from the series here:
CONVERSATION